Princess Diana (1961 - 1997)

In 1997 the world was shocked to hear the death of Diana, Princess of Wales; mother to Princes William and Harry, and former wife to Prince Charles.

She was probably the most beloved royal at the time and it was rather inconceivable that her death was an accident. Many questions surrounding the exact event remain unanswered causing speculation that it may have been more than just and accident.

The Accident

According to news reports the Mercedes S280 sedan that Princess Diana and Dodi Al Fayed were in crashed violently into the concrete pillar somewhere in the Pont D’Alma tunnel under the streets of Paris on August 31, 1997.

French authorities reported that the chauffer Henri Paul was intoxicated to some degree with alcohol, and had also taken the sedative Tiapridal and the antidepressant Prozac.

It is reported that the Mercedes passed a white Fiat Uno and after a blinding flash, crashed. The vehicle reportedly ricocheted off the pillar and smashed into the opposite wall.

Paul and 42 year old Dodi Al-Fayed died instantly. 32 year old Diana was alive when paramedics arrived and blood transfusion was done at the scene. However, her heart stopped en route to the hospital. She was pronounced dead four hours later.

The only person to come out of the crash without fatal injuries was the bodyguard Trevor Rees-Jones.

A public inquiry was conducted regarding the Princess’ death. However, it has only provoked more unanswered questions, giving rise to a conspiracy surrounding the death.

Rees-Jones Leaving the Hospital

The Assassination Theory

Conspiracy theorists believe that a string of unlikely coincidences and unanswered questions into the crash suggest an orchestrated assassination possibly by the United Kingdom’s (UK) external intelligence agency – the MI6, and was carried out on behalf of the British monarchy.

But why would the monarchy want Diana dead? Conspiracy theorists suggest it could be because Diana was going to convert.

Religious Conversion

Princess Diana was at the time in a relationship with Dodi Al-Fayed, an Egyptian and Muslim. He was the son Mohamed Al Fayed, a powerful businessman who was at odds with authorities in the UK.

There are suggestions by an American writer that Diana was pregnant at the time and was intending to convert to Muslim in order to marry Dodi.

There is wide belief that the Crown found it unacceptable for, Prince William, the future King of England to have a Muslim mother and stepfather.

Another question that has fuelled the conspiracy theory is why she was taken to a hospital an hour and 40 minutes away.

Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital

When paramedics arrived, Diana was alive and rushed to the hospital. However, she was taken to Pitie-Salpetriere Hospital, an hour and 40 minutes’ drive away despite four hospitals in closer proximity.

Pitie-Salpetriere is supposedly the hospital of choice for officials visiting Paris. However, conspiracy theorists believe it houses a number of operatives from the intelligence community.

These are not the only insinuating circumstances that support an assassination theory. The fact that a number of people closely investigating the death have died under suspicious circumstances have only seemed to add fuel to the fire.

Suspicious Deaths

Paparazzi photographer James Andanson, who was possibly the owner of white Fiat, died under questionable circumstances in May 2000. His burned body was discovered in a charred BMW in woodland near Nant village, Aveyron in south-western France.

Prior to meeting his demise, Andanson’s office was burgled by three masked, well- armed and trained men who injured a security guard and for a while kept hostages. However, he was not the only one to die under questionable circumstances.

American writer Jim Keith, who was the first to suggest Diana was pregnant at the time of her death in his news column Nitro News, died days before revealing the source of his information.

Keith had promised to reveal his source – reportedly Dodi Al-Fayed’s own physician – but died suddenly before finishing his column.

Authorities ruled Andanson's death a suicide, even though he was found with TWO bullet wounds. | Source

More Questions than Answers

There are other questions that remain unanswered like the full extent of Diana’s injuries. Early news reports suggest that the princess was walking around immediately after the crash and was able to talk to paramedics who arrived on the scene.

Another burning question is if vehicle had been tampered with. The Mercedes had allegedly been stolen from the garage of the Ritz Hotel a week prior to the accident. Police recovered the car but found that the instruments had been tampered with. However, the car was reinspected and reconditioned shortly after.

Then there is the spooky fact that all seventeen of the cameras inside the tunnel conveniently failed to operate at the time of the crash. However, even the sole survivor of the crash, the bodyguard Rees-Jones, claims amnesia about the event.

Is he afraid of someone? Or is he hiding his involvement? According to reports, Rees-Jones was the only one wearing a seatbelt – a practice contrary to normal bodyguard procedure. However, he is not the only one whose culpability is being questioned.

The chauffer Henri Paul received a mysterious deposit of US$2000, 000 in his bank account prior to the crash which a former MI6 agent named Richard Tomlinson claims came from the intelligence agency. Was he paid to crash?

Empty Investigations

Dodi Al Fayed’s father, Mohamed, devoted tremendous resources to finding answers to the unanswered questions surrounding the circumstances of his son and Diana’s deaths. However, the 2004 investigation and 2007 inquest have not reached a conclusion, and some people believe that the truth will never be revealed.

What Are Your Thoughts?

Do you think Princess Diana's death was an accident?

The Truth is Out There

While the public is still not satisfied with answers provided by authorities, there are curious minds out there still searching for answers to the unanswered and hopefully, one day, the truth will be revealed.

Comments

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Author

Bernard Sinai 15 months agofrom Papua New Guinea

Thanks Poppy. I've edited the paragraphs you mentioned and it should be clearer now.

Poppy 15 months agofrom Tokyo, Japan

Great article, well-researched and thought out. Nicely laid out and easy to read. I feel like Diana's death was no accident. It wouldn't be the first time officials had killed someone going against them.

A few suggestions - you said someone was intoxicated under Prozac. Taking Prozac doesn't count as intoxication; it's an anti-depressant.

You also said "it was rather inconceivable that her death was an accident. However, many questions surrounding the exact event remain unanswered causing speculation that it may have been more than just and accident."

You mean it was believable that her death was an accident? 'Inconceivable' means 'unbelievable'.

I'm a proofreader so I notice tiny details haha, other than those two minor things it is an awesome article. Great job! :)

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